


Dinner With Carmen

by 2020nofear



Series: Carmen/Julia series [1]
Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: F/F, First Dates, Kissing, Romance, date, heights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23265934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2020nofear/pseuds/2020nofear
Summary: Carmen proves she can be romantic when she puts her mind to it. Set after the interactive episode.
Relationships: Julia "Jules" Argent/Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Series: Carmen/Julia series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1675780
Comments: 15
Kudos: 264





	Dinner With Carmen

**Author's Note:**

> First post! I'm excited, hope you like it!

Well, the roses were new.

Priceless treasures had a habit of appearing on Julia’s doorstep, but Carmen’s gifts tended to be culturally rather than personally significant. That kidnapping business must have really rattled her – clearly she cared for her team a lot. Julia wished that her bosses were a bit more like Carmen – she struggled to imagine them going against their principles and stealing artefacts like these to keep _her_ safe. But Carmen... Julia had felt privileged to be asked to help her, and was touched that her help had been appreciated.

Julia realised she’d been standing out in the hall with the flowers, and the artefacts, for some time. Making an effort to snap out of her thoughts, she did a quick inventory. Yes, the warrior, the caviar, and the bone were all there. Had Carmen left a note? Yes – there was a card in the flowers. Disappointingly, all it said was “Thanks!” Julia stared at the curly handwriting – had Carmen written this? Could she do calligraphy AS WELL? Julia’s sigh was more exasperation than admiration this time. Some people were too fucking accomplished.

Julia put the flowers in a vase and called in for ACME to pick up the goods, remembering to get changed before they arrived. To be caught cosplaying as Carmen _would_ be embarrassing. She wondered when she would want to pick up the coat and hat. Julia had fantasised about her breaking into her flat to retrieve them, but in reality Carmen had always respected her privacy, and she had no reason to suspect that had changed. The idea of waking to see Carmen silhouetted in her window by a flash of lightning was delicious, but improbable.

The days became weeks, measured by new cases, new leads, and by the wilting of the roses. Julia had put the hat and coat away at the back of the wardrobe, determined that they wouldn’t take up space in her flat, or in her mind. She’d had no other contact from Carmen, so she couldn’t want them that badly. It was even time for those roses to go, she decided. They were dropping petals all over the sideboard, and there was no reason – no reason she would admit to – to keep them. But as she swept them up, she spotted a flash of white underneath a red petal which was peeling away. A note! It was an effort to open the note without tearing it – time seemed fast, and Julia’s fingers clumsy – but she managed. As terse as all of Carmen’s communications, it read simply “Dinner?” followed by a phone number.

\-----

“Hey, Red! You got a call on that new personal number!”

Carmen stared out at the turquoise tropical sea. “Good timing! Patch it through, Player.”

“You got it!”

Carmen’s heart was racing. It seemed like an hour before a voice came through on the line.

“Carmen?”

“Jules! You got my note! Took you a while to call, I’d almost given up.” Carmen tried to make this sound playful.

“They took a while to wilt! I was looking after them!”

“Haha alright. Hope you enjoyed them, thanks again for your help.”

“Anytime.”

There was a pause.

“So,” Carmen ventured. “About dinner…”

\-----

Julia wondered whether she should bring Carmen’s coat and hat to dinner. For about ten seconds, she toyed with the idea of wearing them. Ridiculous. She’d leave them behind. If Carmen wanted them, she could ask for them.

When she arrived at the restaurant (upmarket, tasteful – the kind of place you went when someone _very_ important was paying) Carmen was already there. She was wearing red, of course, her hair was up, and she was staring at the menu with seemingly complete focus, but looked up as the server brought Julia over.

“Hi…”

“Hi Jules! You look great!”

…

“You know,” Carmen said, once their starters had arrived “they’re having another go at that caviar fundraiser next week.”

Julia leaned forward eagerly. “I heard! Do you think V.I.L.E. will make a showing?”

Carmen waved her question away. “Probably. But anyway, I thought about inviting you. One up from dinner.”

“I have my own ticket.” Julia met Carmen’s eyes aggressively. She might be ready to be swept off her feet, but she could go places on her own merit too. “ACME business.”

“Of course.” Carmen went red. “Anyway… I thought somewhere more private might be nice. This place is one of my favourites.”

Julia didn't want to be an ungrateful guest. “Oh yeah, it’s really nice here! Great suggestion!”

…

“Was she seriously going to clone the dinosaur?”

“Dr Bellum? Oh yeah, she was dead serious.”

Julia shook her head in disbelief. “Could she have done it?”

“I wouldn’t put it past her. Man, if she could put her powers towards doing some good in the world…”

“I guess global warming would be solved?”

“Probably with giant space mirrors though. Or a giant nuclear fridge.” Carmen shrugged.

…

“Oh my god! Yes, the train! I wish I could’ve seen your face when you found the Magna Carta.”

“Or my face when I realised who you were!”

“Or Inspector Devineaux’s face when he realised I’d cuffed him to the chair!”

“Yes! That was so funny!”

…

“Well, thank you very much for dinner.” Julia didn’t really want it to end.

“Want to sit for a while? I know a place.”

“Alright.”

“Hang on then!” Carmen flicked her right wrist and held out her left arm. Oh God, thought Julia. That fucking grapple. Well, it was one way to break the touch barrier. She took a deep breath, and stepped closer, letting Carmen put her arm around her. “Ready?” Carmen didn’t wait for an answer, but Julia wrapped her arms around her and clung on as tight as she thought she could, and then tighter as she felt Carmen start to lurch upwards.

The ride wasn’t long enough for Julia to open her eyes. She was aware only of not letting go, the rushing wind, and Carmen’s spicy perfume.

Carmen alighted gracefully, despite her terrified passenger. “Hey” she said – gently, but still playfully. “You can look now.” Julia blinked cold tears from her eyes. 

“Whoa!” They were standing – well, Carmen was standing, Julia was clinging – on a wide ledge, high above the city. She loosened her grip, but Carmen took her hand.

“The residents here pay a lot for flats with this view. Just another thing I like to steal.” Carmen winked and sat down on a ledge. Julia sat down beside her, but Carmen motioned for her to scooch closer so she could put her arm back around her. Julia was glad, it was cold so high up. As well as warmed, she felt calmed by Carmen’s strong body pressing against her. Carmen started pointing out the city’s landmarks, telling stories about capers she’d pulled at each one.

“There, do you see? That’s the window I climbed out of.”

…

“You really threw the statue off that bridge?”

“Eh, Ivy caught it.”

…

“…that hilltop there – I was surrounded by police! But they didn’t know there was a tunnel…”

…

After a while, Carmen fell silent, as if she’d run out of stories. Julia turned to face her, and Carmen’s deep blue eyes met hers. Julia recognised this kind of silence, the kind with only one way out. Her face was burning at the realisation. Maybe her whole body was burning. She froze. Time froze. To her relief, Carmen whispered:

“May I?”

“Yes…”

It took an age for Carmen’s lips to meet hers, but when they did the fire and tension melted away. To Julia’s delight Carmen kissed with the confidence and dedication she brought to everything she did. Julia too gave it her all, desperate to prove that in empathy and intelligence she was Carmen’s match. Carmen pulled away, but she was grinning broadly. She gently reached up to remove Julia’s glasses.

“Can I?”

Julia had forgotten how to speak. “Mmm-hm” she assented.

With no further barriers, they kissed harder and more messily, their earlier responsiveness and care turning to fiery desperation. Boldly, Julia reached up and let Carmen’s hair down. She was rewarded with an excited moan, as well as the tumble of glossy curls. She reached under Carmen’s coat for the strap of her top, pushing it down her shoulder, but Carmen stopped her hand.

“Not today” she whispered in her ear. “More slowly.”

“Ok” Julia couldn’t worry that she had overstepped for long – Carmen carried on kissing her with enthusiasm, so clearly there were no hard feelings. Eventually, however, they tired, and sat looking at each other in stunned silence.

“I should take you home” Carmen said at last.

“I suppose…”

Carmen stood and offered her hand. “Hold tight!” she grinned.

Oh God. Really?

Julia trusted Carmen, right? She’d be safe with Carmen. She couldn’t let Carmen see she was scared. She stepped forward, pressing her face into Carmen’s chest and wrapping her arms tightly around her.

She still screamed as Carmen flung them over the side.

When the glider deployed, she was still screaming. When she ran out of breath, she calmed herself enough to peek out and see the city lights whooshing past. She hadn’t time to enjoy the view before they landed gently on a street corner. The end of her road, she realised. Carmen chuckled, her arm still around her.

“You’ll get used to it.”

Julia pulled back just far enough to give her an exasperated stare. Carmen grinned and kissed her on the point of her cheekbone.

“Goodnight” she whispered. No sooner had Julia felt the absence of Carmen’s arm around her than she heard the zzzzip of the grapple, and Carmen disappeared into the night.


End file.
